First European baby with Zika related defect is confirmed to have been born in Spain today

THE first case of a baby born with the microcephaly birth defect linked to the Zika virus has been born in Europe.

The 41-year-old woman was diagnosed with the virus in May but decided to keep the baby and it was born today in Barcelona, according to health officials.

Medics said the baby was born with a microcephaly – an abnormally small head.

It is believed the mother contracted the virus during a trip to Colombia while she was 13 weeks pregnanat. She also tested positive for Dengue fever.

The baby was born by caesarean section after 40 weeks of pregnancy.

This Zika birth comes just weeks before the Olympic Games begin in Brazil, where the virus originated.

Though several people throughout Europe are known to have contracted the virus, there have been very few cases of babies developing microcephaly symptoms.

As the infection causes severe birth defects when contracted by pregnant women, expectant mothers have been warned not to travel to affected areas.

In May, the Spanish government said it had identified 105 people infected with Zika, 13 of them pregnant women.

Scientists have estimated that up to 1.65 million women of child-bearing age in Latin America could still be at risk from Zika.

Brazil, where the virus began, has more than three times the number of infections of any other country.

In February World Health Organisation declared the epidemic an international public health emergency.

Experts predict the current wave of the virus may only last another two to three years before ‘burning out’ due to herd immunity.

This is when such a high proportion of the population develops immunity to the disease so it runs out of available hosts.

Since the Zika epidemic began in 2015, nearly 5,000 cases of microcephaly have been recorded in affected regions.

The virus can be spread through mosquito bites, from a mother to a foetus, through sexual contact, through blood transfusion or laboratory exposure.